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Frequently Quoted but Often Misunderstood, the Work of Laura

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Frequently Quoted but Often Misunderstood, the Work of Laura Media Theorist – Laura Mulvey Frequently quoted but often misunderstood, the work of Laura Mulvey on ‘the Gaze’ is at the heart of feminist film theory, and has been hugely influential since the mid-1970s. Essentials Her most famous work to date is her seminal essay ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’, written in 1973 and first published in 1975 in the British film theory journal Screen. At a simple level, she argued that the typical audience member is assumed to be male. Furthermore, the typical audience member becomes aligned with the film’s male protagonist. According to the theory, women in film are simply objects for ‘the gaze’ of the protagonist & male audience. Influences Mulvey’s essay ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’ borrowed from popular psychoanalytical frameworks of the time, specifically Sigmund Freud’s concept of scopophilia and Jacques Lacan’s reinterpretation of this by his explanation of the child’s ‘mirror stage’. The Psychoanalytical theory FREUD AND SCOPOPHILIA; Put simply, scopophilia is the pleasure of watching; specifically the mature adult’s desire to see things that are culturally forbidden or taboo. JAQUES LACAN AND THE MIRROR STAGE; In essence, the Mirror Stage, according to Lacan, refers to the moment in early childhood when the child perceives itself as an independent being. At some stage, generally between six and eighteen months, the child looks in the mirror and recognises itself. It feels a sense of jubilation at its own independent existence, and this feeds into its ego and a sense of narcissistic pleasure. When children first perceive themselves as independent of their mother by way Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) has been widely associated with Freud’s theories. Media Theorist – Laura Mulvey of their mirror reflection, it is at a stage of frustration in their personal development; as their physical desires are greater than their physiological ability. They then consider their mirror reflection to be more able, more perfect, and more complete than they currently feel. Mulvey believes that this stage leads into the process of film viewing in adulthood, as the mirror is replaced by the screen. The typical audience member gains a sense of narcissistic pleasure from identifying with the film’s protagonist, and following fascination with their filmic counterpart. LAURA MULVEY AND THE GAZE Applying these ideas to Hollywood film viewing, Mulvey suggested that women in film are represented as ‘objects’, images with visual and erotic impact, which she termed their ‘to-be-looked-at-ness’. Classical Hollywood films positioned the audience as male, and through identification with the male protagonist (Lacan) gave him an active role in viewing the female subject and gaining pleasure from doing so (Freud). This look, from audience to actress, is termed ‘the look’ or ‘the gaze’. According to Mulvey the look could be ‘voyeuristic’ (women are viewed as virtuous and beautiful) or ‘fetishistic’ (women are viewed as excessively sexual beings). Glossary of Terms Scopophilia: The pleasure of watching what shouldn’t be seen (taboo images). Mirror Stage: Lacan’s term used to describe the stage at which a child realises they are a person independent of their mother. Narcissism: Excessive or erotic interest in the self. Voyeuristic Gaze: A gaze which objectifies the recipient of the gaze in a non-sexual manner, rather through admiration. Fetishistic Gaze: A gaze which objectifies the recipient of the gaze in a sexual manner. To-be-looked-at-ness: The way in which a character is constructed, using media language (through the framing of shots and position of the camera) to be objectified by another character or the audience’s gaze. Objectified: to be viewed as an object rather than a person; often women in films/music videos are seen as objects of male desire. .
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